INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — As potholes frustrate drivers throughout Indianapolis, city leaders are floating a measure they say will fix the city's roads by passing on the cost to drivers by increasing their annual vehicle registration fees.
"I've been really tired of seeing how bad our roads are," said Indianapolis resident Tyler Mitchell, who has recently highlighted the issue by posting videos of the city's potholes on his social media feed. "There's a lot more swerving down here on the south side.... Something needs to change. We didn't used to live like this."
The Indianapolis City-County Council's proposal would replace the county vehicle excise surtax (for "regular-sized" vehicles, like passenger cars, motorcycles and trucks under 11,000 pounds) with a flat $100 annual fee, paid at registration. For larger vehicles, subject to the county wheel tax, the fee would be a flat annual fee of $240.
"It's important to note, you only pay one of the two; you don't pay both," said Andy Nielsen, Indiana City-County Councilor.
The city is hoping to raise $50 million, which would then make it eligible to receive $50 million in state funding. The match amount would increase incrementally each year: $50 million in 2027, $70 million in 2028, $80 million in 2029, $90 million in 2030, and $100 million beginning in 2031 and each year thereafter.
"The top issue we hear about is the condition of our infrastructure," Nielsen said. "What we need to do is take action, and that's what we're doing with this plan."
Some residents, like Mitchell, while despising the city's road conditions, say a new tax is not necessary to fix the problem.
"We don't need to be paying more money; you need to start reducing what you spend money on," Mitchell said. "The city council needs to learn how to prioritize spending just like all these families in Indianapolis do and come up with a real solution... We have a potholes problem because we have a priorities problem."
Nielsen responds to criticisms like those that he believes the costs of the new fees are less than the costs of repairing a damaged vehicle.
"You're paying for it one way or another," he said. "Right now, every time you hit a pothole, and you bust a tire, or you bend a rim or your suspension gets messed up, or the alignment of your vehicle is off... You are paying for that one way or another."
The measure will be formally introduced at Monday's City-County Council meeting. If the proposal passes, the new taxes would take effect January 1, 2027.
